Major League Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals in 2011
PART 1:
As the Cardinals became the World Series champion this year, this series of writing will explore what were the initial difficulties and challenges that the Cardinals confronted; and how did the team cope with them to march past all other rivals in the season.
It was in October this year that the grand finale of World Series was scheduled between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. The best-of-seven-game final was tied at 3-3, and both the teams had locked horns. While the pundits were making predictions based on their calculations, both the Cardinals and the Rangers were doing their bit to prevail.
It was the St. Louis Cardinals who ultimately won the World Series, also for the 11th time in the franchise’s history. However, what retains importance is how the St. Louis Cardinals actually started the season. It ostensibly did not seem very promising, as a string or injuries and early losses in the season delivered a severe blow to the team’s confidence and morale.
Nonetheless, known for their competitiveness, the St. Louis Cardinals ably handled the situation. The biggest setback that came very early for the Cardinals was an elbow injury of one of the key players, starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.
A promising starter that the Cardinals take pride in, Wainwright probably did not know what was coming his way. It was in February, in the beginning of the Spring Training that the ace pitcher had complained of an elbow injury.
That took the player away from the entire season, leaving the Cardinals with few available options. Having played 182 games, and making 119 starts in the career, Wainwright had a 2.97 earned run average, with .244 BAA. A Gold Glove winner in the year 2009, he has 724 strikeouts to his credit.
His departure very early created a huge problem for the St. Louis Cardinals. How would they grapple with this issue was something that, for quite some time, was a matter of deep thinking. The team’s bullpen performance then predominantly hinged upon how the likes of Chris Carpenter would perform. The starter, as expected, played extraordinarily well. With his performance, he proved his choice absolutely right, making up for the loss that the team had suffered in the face of Wainwright.
As the pitcher’s injury dominated much of the discussion on the St. Louis Cardinals in the Spring Training, it did not have to continue for long. The Cardinals had a substitute and Carpenter would discharge that task with utmost professionalism and responsibility.
Continued in PART 2
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